Happy Halloween
by C.Queen
Summary: At the age of five Albus and Scorpius meet up at a Halloween party, neither knowing who the other is. Things get a bit complicated though, when Albus mistakens Scorpius for a girl.
1. A First Meeting

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the situations and the original characters. Everything else, as the lawyers will tell you, belongs to somebody else. Thanks very much for reading, hope you enjoy this and my other works.

A First Meeting

Five year old Scorpius Malfoy was miserable. Standing out on the balcony, close to tears, the poor little guy tugged at his tail for the hundredth time, muttering under his breath as it stubbornly remained wrapped around the railing. He'd wanted to dress up as a scorpion, after his name, but his grandmother, his mother's mother, had said that while his name was darling a scorpion was an ugly and disgusting bug. She'd insisted on picking out a costume for him, which was why he'd come out here to hide, not wanting any kids his own age to see him dressed up as a kitten. His father had nearly had a stroke when he'd seen it, but his mother had insisted. The grey cat suit was really warm, and the whiskers she'd attached to his cheeks felt really weird and itched. The worst was the tail though. It had been bewitched to move and he'd pissed it off by stepping on it a couple times by accident. Hence it wrapping itself around the railing so that he was stuck there, as punishment.

"What's wrong?"

Letting go of his tail Scorpius looked over to see a kid about his age walking towards him, also dressed up as a cat. This kid was dressed up as a lion though, which was loads better than his own costume in Scorpius's opinion. Plus someone had bewitched the boy's green eyes to be slitted like a real cat's, which was really sick.

"Nothing's wrong." Scorpius finally blurted out, when he realized the other boy was waiting for a response.

Raising an eyebrow the boy pointed at Scorpius's tail. "Your tail is stuck, isn't it?" It looked stuck to Albus, but he was only five and did realize that there were plenty of things he didn't know. How could he not, when his big brothers Teddy and James were constantly reminding him. Though he'd know even more than they did when he got big, he'd already decided.

Torn between wanting to get free and embarrassed about his predicament Scorpius fingered the front of his costume. Malfoys didn't ask for help from anyone after all. But he was really, really getting hungry, and he could smell the buffet tables from here. "It won't let go." He finally admitted as the boy came over to get a better look.

"Let's pull on it together." Albus decided, reaching out to get a good grip on the soft grey tail. "And if we can't get it loose I'll go find my big brother James. He'll probably help. My other brother Teddy would help, but he's at Hogwarts. He's nicer than James."

"So you have two brothers? I don't have any brothers or sisters." Reaching behind him Scorpius got a good grip on his tail as well.

"Yup. Teddy is twelve, James is seven, and I have a sister named Lily who's only two and a half. I'm five. Ready to pull then? On three?"

When the other boy nodded Albus counted it off and on three they both pulled as hard as they could, the tail letting go just to be contrary. The two boys went flying backwards at the unexpected give, landing in a heap on the stone floor.

"Are you alright?" Scorpius asked as he held out a hand to help the other boy out.

"Yup."

)

Taking the offered hand Albus got up, not the least put out. He was used to falls and crashing into things. When one had as many siblings and cousins as he did getting hurt and dirty were common occurrences. Brushing the dirt off his costume Albus looked at the girl in front of him, admiring the fact that she wasn't crying. His cousin Dominique, who was a year older than him, cried all the time when her clothes or stuff got dirty. Girls were weird that way. This girl wasn't as pretty as Dominique was, but Albus thought she had the prettiest colored eyes he'd ever seen. Just like fog, which he loved to play in.

"I'm Al by the way."

Opening his mouth to answer Scorpius hesitated. "My father says I'm not supposed to tell strangers my name or who I belong to unless I'm lost."

Albus had been told plenty of times by his parents not to talk to strangers, but he never really listened. But maybe the girl's dad was really strict about that sort of thing. A thoughtful look on his face Albus tapped a finger against his cheek as he pondered. "I'll just call you Grey then, shall I?"

"Grey?"

"Because you have the prettiest grey eyes ever. Would that be alright?"

Blushing brightly Scorpius didn't know what to say, nodding shyly instead. Nobody had ever told him his eyes were pretty before. His stomach rumbling distracted him from wondering if he should tell his new friend that he liked his eyes too.

"Hungry? Me too. Let's go get some food." Motioning for Scorpius to follow him Albus confidently led the way through the crowds, taking Scorpius hand when old witches kept surrounding his new friend to pat her head or pinch her cheeks for looking so adorable. Dragging Grey along with him Albus got them to the buffet in record time. Only problem was they were both too short to see what there was, much less load up a plate with the stuff.

Sharing annoyed looks the two turned and glared at the tables that dared to be too high up for them. What were they supposed to do now?

"Need some help, you two?"

Turning his head Albus beamed up at his Uncle George. "Yes please."

"And who's your friend, Al?" George asked while he loaded down two plates with the good stuff for the kids, after asserting that there wasn't anything the other kid couldn't eat. He knew from past experience that his nephew would eat just about anything. This really came in handy when he needed to test something and Ginny wasn't around to stop him.

"This is my new friend Grey."

"Nice to meet you, Grey. Here you both go." Passing the plates over to them George winked, tipping the brim of his Mad Hatter's hat. "Now don't eat too much or it will put you to sleep before the big fireworks display later."

"We won't." They promised, though both intended to gorge themselves first opportunity. Everything looked so good and their parents weren't around to make them use napkins or even utensils! Hurrying off they returned to their balcony and sitting down on the floor with their plates in their laps got to know each other between bites.

They both came from wizarding families and they both intended to go to Hogwarts when they got big. Their mums and dads and grandparents had all gone there of course, since it was the very best. Albus felt very sorry for the girl when Grey explained that she had to get into Slytherin because that was where all her relatives went. Scorpius was equally sorry when Albus told him that he would go into Gryffindor because that's where all his relatives went. Both agreed that they didn't see why they couldn't remain friends anyway. Albus even told Scorpius about being named after a Slytherin, thinking that that would reassure the girl that she didn't have to become a bad person and his enemy, even if they were in opposing houses.

Glad that he would know someone at Hogwarts Scorpius was only sorry his friend couldn't be in his house too. He was pretty sure he was going to be miserable there too, because most of the other families from that house didn't like his family anymore. Scorpius wasn't sure why, but apparently his grandmother had done something that had really made them all mad at them. Nobody had really explained it to him though, always saying he wasn't old enough to know.

"Well when we're in Hogwarts together we'll still have classes together." Albus pointed out, once he'd learned that they were the same age. "And when we get even older we can go to Hogsmeade together. I've been there a couple times and it's really, really neat."

"That would be fun." Scorpius agreed, popping a pickle into his mouth.

"Loads. I'll introduce you to my brothers too, and all my cousins. They'll all play with you and we'll have lots of fun. And if any of them pick on you I'll beat them up for you." With Teddy's help, Albus silently added. So far he'd always come out on the losing end in fights with his older brother James. Though there was some satisfaction in the fact that James also got lectured more too.

Scorpius had always wanted a bigger family, having no siblings or even cousins to play with. It sounded even better now, hearing about all the things Albus got to do with his brothers and cousins. It seemed like they got into a lot of trouble, but Scorpius thought that the trouble would probably be worth it.

)

They had pretty much cleaned their plates off when the large clock nearby chimed off the hour, reminding Scorpius that he hadn't checked in with either of his parents in a while. They liked to know where he was.

"I better go and find my parents." Scorpius said regretfully as he got to his feet. "Mother worries and I don't want her to cry again."

"Cry again? Did she lose you before?" Albus had wandered off on his own several times and his mother had always been more mad than sad. But his mum was really tough; she wasn't a girlie girl like his Aunt Fleur.

"No, but she and grandfather were talking about how I'll probably never get married because no pure blood family would ever be interested in me. Me marrying a pureblood is very important to grandfather and he yelled at my mother when she said that she'd rather I be happy. I don't know what the fuss is, since I'm only five, but she cried anyway. Grandfather can be scary sometimes. Anyway, I better go."

"Well do you want to meet back here, after you let her know you're alright? I'll go find my mum and da, and I'm sure they'd be alright with us playing out here."

So pleased he was beaming Scorpius nodded his agreement then waving headed off to find his mother, wanting to do it as quickly as possible so he could hurry back to play with his friend.

Also heading into the crowd Albus's young mind was busy trying to think of a way to help his friend out. He'd seen his mother cry a time or two, especially on the anniversary of Uncle Fred's death, and it always made him feel awful. His da said that mum's tears made him feel awful too.

By the time he'd found his mother an idea had taken root in Albus's mind, one that had him grinning as he wiggled his way over to her side.

"Why hello there. And where have you been?" Ginny Potter asked as she set a hand on her son's furry head, grinning down at him. Dressed as a ghost she wore all white, with the rest of her transfigured to be as pale as possible. Her sons had declared that she looked very sick, which she took to be a good thing.

"With my friend. I just came to let you know I'm okay and I ate." His mother was very particular about him not skipping meals.

"So George told me." Surprised that he would check in with her, since her kids generally had to be dragged away from their fun, Ginny was none the less touched at the gesture. "Well you can go back to whatever trouble you were getting into, just remember that after the fireworks we're going home. Your dad and I will be by the main staircase."

"Okay. Mum, you don't have a ring on you that you don't want, do you?" The only rings she was wearing were her engagement and wedding rings, but he'd learned in the past that mothers were rather miraculous in being able to produce anything you might need, whether it be a band aid or a cookie.

"And why would you need a ring?"

"So that I can propose to Grey. Then her grandfather wouldn't yell at her mum anymore. Our family is pureblood, and I like Grey."

Very confused Ginny made her son explain himself, enough to get the idea that her son's new friend came from one of the old wizarding families still obsessed with their bloodlines. Obsessed enough to have a five year old worrying about her marriage prospects. Ginny wondered who the girl belonged to, but Al didn't know her last name. It was really very sweet, Ginny thought, that her son would want to propose to the girl to help her out. Of course her son had no idea what he was suggesting, how could he at five?

"Well I don't have a ring." Ginny began, looking around her. Aha. Walking over Ginny quickly slipped a daisy from a nearby flower arrangement and pulling out her wand caused the stem to curl in to form a ring the way her father had done for her when she was a girl. Making sure it would stay together Ginny casted another spell to preserve it, since she WAS dealing witha pair of rambunctious five year olds. "There you go. One ring." She announced, handing it off to her delighted son.

It was even prettier than his mother's rings, Albus thought proudly. "Thanks, Mum!"

Watching him run off Ginny was tempted to follow and get a look at her future daughter in law but no, proposals should be a private thing, she thought with a grin, wishing her son good luck.

)

When Scorpius finally broke away from his mother's grasp he headed straight back to the balcony, waving delightedly when he spotted Albus waiting for him. "Sorry it took so long." Scorpius apologized, though his father said Malfoys never apologized for anything. "She wanted to show my costume off to her friends." A humiliating experience he wanted to forget as soon as possible.

"No problem." Shrugging his shoulders Albus was too proud of himself to care about being kept waiting. "Guess what, I've figured out a way so your grandfather won't yell at your mum anymore."

"Really? How?"

"You can marry me. Then he won't be worried anymore, cause I'm a pureblood. My mum said it's alright with her." Well she hadn't exactly, but she'd given him the ring, hadn't she? And his mum was boss in their house. Da said so.

Blinking in surprise Scorpius didn't know what to think. He'd thought his friend was a boy, it hadn't occurred to him that Al might be a girl. She didn't look like a girl much. Was Al a girl's name? Or maybe it was just short for something. Either way, her feelings would probably be hurt if he told her he'd thought she was a boy. And even if she did look like a boy she was still really, really nice. And his grandfather had said that pickings were slim.

"You sure you want to marry me?" Scorpius asked, just to make sure.

"Sure. I like you. Now hold out your left hand."

Confused Scorpius did so, eyes widening as Albus slipped a ring with a flower on top of it on his finger.

Leaning forward Albus placed a quick kiss on Scorpius's lips, just like he'd seen his own da do to his mum. Pleased, he grinned over at her proudly. "There, we're engaged now."

Blushing furiously again Scorpius stared down at the ring and then back up at Albus. "Shouldn't…shouldn't you be the one to wear this?"

"The girl always wears the fancy ring."

It took a moment, but Scorpius had been mistaken for a girl in his costume too many times that evening to not get it. "I'm not a girl! I'M A BOY!"

Blinking Albus's jaw dropped. "You're a boy? But…but…no boy would wear a costume like that." Really looking at his friend Albus had to admit that the face wasn't that girlie, but he'd just assumed that no boy would ever be caught dead dressed as a kitten. He certainly wouldn't. He'd die first.

"My grandmother made me!"

"Oh." This was something Albus could understand and relate to. He couldn't say no to his grandmother either. Gran was even more his boss than his mum was. Bad things happened to people who didn't listen to her. "Sorry I thought you were a girl." Albus finally said.

Looking down at himself Scorpius couldn't really blame him. "It's alright. Just don't do it again."

"I won't." Albus promised, crossing his heart for emphasis.

The two awkwardly looking at each other neither quite knew how to proceed.

"Can boys get married?" Albus asked, once he'd wrapped his head around the idea that Grey was a boy. It was actually better that way, since he'd much rather play with a boy than a girl. It wasn't a bad thing at all, Albus decided, except for the fact that he'd never heard of two boys getting married to each other. He had just proposed after all.

Scorpius had never heard of boys getting married, but he wasn't sure. He shrugged instead, indicating his ignorance.

"We should go ask my Granddad." Albus decided. "He works for the Ministry and he would know." He wasn't sure exactly what his granddad did at the ministry, but it involved laws, and rules and stuff. If granddad didn't know his gran certainly would.

And so the two set off to find Albus's grandfather, hoping he'd be able to tell them whether or not they could get married when they got big.


	2. Trick or Treat?

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations those characters find themselves in. Everything else belongs to somebody else and that's just the way the cookie crumbles. Hope you enjoy this latest chapter and please let me know what you think!

Trick or Treat?

The two hadn't gotten very far when Scorpius reached out and tugged on Albus's arm, pointing with his other hand. "That's my grandfather there, the one who yells. He's not wearing a costume."

Curious Albus studied the man in question, his black brows drawing together as he recognized the man from previous encounters with him. He'd found the older man more than a little scary, though he'd tried not to show it. But if that was Grey's grandfather… "Grey…are you a Malfoy?"

"Uh huh." Nodding Scorpius figured it was alright for Al to know his name now, seeing as they were engaged and all. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy."

"Uh oh. That's really bad."

"Why is that really bad?" Scorpius wanted to know, worried that he was going to lose his friend now. He should have known better than to tell Al who he was, Scorpius thought miserably. Nobody liked his family but his family.

"Because I'm a Potter."

Eyes going wide Scorpius stared at his friend in shock. There was no one his grandfather hated more than Harry Potter. And he'd heard from his dad that Harry Potter had a son his own age, which must be Al. His new friend was the son of his family's worst enemy. This definitely ruled out any chance of them ever getting married.

Thinking the same thing Albus rubbed the back of his neck. "Which do you think your grandfather would hate more, you marrying me, or a non pureblood?"

That was a tough question. Scorpius couldn't see his grandfather wanting him and Al to be friends, much less married, but his grandfather was a hard person to understand or predict. And grandfather was seriously obsessed with bloodlines.

"I'm not really sure. Do you want me to ask him?" He'd really rather not, but he didn't want Al going over there and possibly getting yelled at.

Thinking about this Albus didn't want Scorpius to go over there. He didn't want to risk the scowling man yelling at Grey the way he yelled at Grey's mum. "Maybe we should ask my Granddad about whether we can get married first. If we can't then there's no reason to ask your grandfather if I can marry you or not." That and maybe his granddad could come along when they did talk to Grey's grandfather. Just to be on the safe side.

Relieved Scorpius nodded his agreement.

Quickly the two rejoined the crowd, doing there best to keep out of Lucius's sight, just in case. Eventually they found Arthur and Molly Weasley sitting at one of the tables, deep in discussion with Albus's Aunt Hermione.

)

"There's my fierce little lion." Her face lighting up with love for her grandson Molly opened her arms, Albus hurrying over to accept the expected hug. It was a little embarrassing, since Grey was there, but Gran's feelings would be hurt if he didn't return the hug. And not hurting Gran's feelings was a family rule.

"Hello there." Smiling kindly at his grandson's friend Arthur tried to place the child, but didn't recognize her as one of Albus's regular playmates. "And what's your name?"

"This is my friend Grey, though his real name is Scorpius." Albus announced, finally breaking free of his grandmother's grasp. Hurrying over Albus moved to stand beside his grandfather, placing his hands on the man's knee to get his attention. "And we have an important question for you, Granddad."

"Scorpius? Scorpius Malfoy?" Arthur asked weakly, noting the blonde hair just peeking out from under the cat costume, the familiar grey eyes.

"Yes, Sir." Shuffling his feet Scorpius wasn't quite sure what to say to any of them. His family wasn't supposed to like Weasleys either, and he knew this man was one. His grandfather said Weasleys were almost as bad as Potters. But he liked Al, and Al was a Potter. So maybe his grandfather was wrong and Potters and Weasleys weren't bad at all.

"Oh dear." Was all Molly could think to say.

"What's your important question, Al?" Hermione asked, giving her in laws time to recover from the shock. Wait till Harry heard about this, she thought to herself, doing her best not to smile. If nothing else she knew her best friend would pay serious money to see someone who looked so much like Draco in a kitten costume. Poor kid.

"Oh right. Can boys get married to each other?"

While Molly and Arthur went back to goggling at the two of them Hermione inquired as to why they would want to know that, buying herself time to figure out how she was supposed to explain gay marriage to a pair of five year olds. And why would they want to know something like that?

"Cause we need to know." Scorpius answered shyly, not wanting to seem a coward in front of Al by remaining silent.

"Well…uhm…" Clearing his throat several times it was obvious how uncomfortable Arthur was with the question. "Well, boys, you see…marriage between boys…well it's not really done in the magical world because…well-."

"Though it is legal in certain countries in the Muggle World." Hermione supplied, trying to help Arthur out. "And as far as I know there aren't any laws against wizards marrying each other, but I don't think there's a lot of precedent either. The Magical World tends to be very medieval in their stand on that sort of thing."

Neither boy knew what a precedent was, but they thought they got the just of it.

"So it is possible for boys to get married but they'd probably get in a lot of trouble." Albus translated, receiving a weak nod of conformation from his granddad. Turning to look at Scorpius Albus gave him a 'what can you do' shrug. "Looks like we can't get married."

"You two?" The shocks kept coming, Molly thought, her hand going to her breast.

"Yup, I asked Grey to marry me, but I didn't know he was a he because his grandmother made him dress up like a kitten. I didn't know he was a Malfoy either. His grandfather definitely wouldn't let me marry him." Frowning deeply Albus's gaze went back to his perplexed grandfather. "But what am I going to do now, Granddad? You said a man always keeps his word, and I promised Grey I'd marry him."

"It's okay." Scorpius announced before Arthur's brain could reengage enough to try and answer the question. Hurrying over to his friend's side Scorpius patted Albus reassuringly on the shoulder. "It was nice of you to offer."

"Why do you want to get married?" Hermione asked curiously, since they seemed so serious about it.

Quickly Scorpius explained his predicament to Albus's family, who all gave him their full attention and didn't seem to mind that he was a Malfoy now that they'd gotten over the shock. In fact they all thought it was very wrong of his grandfather to make his mother cry. They were as nice as Al was. It was too bad he couldn't marry Al, then he could be part of their family too.

"Of all the…" Molly muttered, outraged on the poor little mite's behalf. He was only five after all; there was no reason to lay such burdens on him. But that was Lucius for you, obviously not learning from his screw ups with Draco. He'd tried to control every aspect of his son's life and had ended up with a cowardly bully for a heir. Now he was trying to do the same thing to Scorpius, filling his head with pureblood nonsense already.

"Typical Lucius." Arthur announced in agreement as he patted the head of both boys, who were looking to them for answers too complicated for their little heads to comprehend. And it was adults that complicated things, he acknowledged. Because in a perfect world he should be able to send the two off to play together and not have to worry about Lucius blowing his grandson to bits, possibly taking Scorpius with him. Unfortunately this was not a perfect world and he broke out in a sweat just imagining what Lucius would say if the man found out about this.

"Well at least Draco married someone with a brain, even if it was probably only an accident on his part." Hermione muttered, fired up as always when faced with injustice.

)

While the adults discussed among themselves how unfair this all was Scorpius turned to Al with a questioning look. "So do you think we can still play with each other when we get to Hogwarts?"

"Course we can. Who's going to tell us we can't?" Albus pointed out with a shrug. "Our parents and grandparents don't go to Hogwarts anymore and why would the teachers say no? And my mum and da have never said I couldn't be friends with anyone, ever. They would be okay with me playing with Grey, wouldn't they, Granddad?"

"Well it will certainly speed up the graying of Harry's hair but yes, they could probably get used to the idea. Probably. Once they got to know your friend." And if not he'd just point out to his son in law that Malfoys needed all the good influences they could get.

"But my mother and father wouldn't like it, would they?"

"Well…" And here Arthur looked to the women for help.

"They probably wouldn't, no." Hermione began carefully, not wanting to trash the boy's parents in front of him. He was only five after all. "But when it's time for you to go to Hogwarts you'll both be big boys; and you'll both be old enough to know whether or not being friends is worth the mean things some people will say."

"If people say mean things we'll just beat them up." Al announced, reaching out to take Scorpius's hand in his, determination etched on his young face. "Mr. Dingle says that we Weasleys multiply like rabbits and there are only four Malfoys. There are a lot more of us than there are of them. We'd definitely win."

"Actually there are five of us." Scorpius corrected. "Me, my parents, and my grandparents."

"But you'd be fighting to stay with me, wouldn't you?"

"Oh. Right. And then I could finally kick grandfather for making mother cry."

Why the adults found that so funny was beyond the two children.

)

Shortly thereafter it was announced that the game room that had been set up for the children was now open and ready to accept little visitors. Of course Scorpius and Al wanted to go, and so Arthur offered to take them, wanting to be around just in case. Hermione was charged with finding Ginny, who the adults agreed would be a better determent against a scene than Arthur. Arthur and Molly had too much history with Lucius and Harry's presence would only add fuel to the fire. Hermione would have gone but if Draco was the one who showed up sparks were bound to flare there too. Ginny was therefore the logical choice.

And so Arthur found himself holding the hand of a Malfoy, a boy on either side of him as he helped them down the steep stairs. Whoever had thought it was safe for children to be running up and down them on their way to the various events didn't have children of there own. Shaking his head Arthur made a mental note to mention it to the organizers for future reference.

Once they arrived on the floor beneath the ballroom the kids let out shrieks of happiness as they caught sight of all the wonderful things that had been set up for their amusement. Keeping a firm grip on them so that they wouldn't get lost in the crowd Arthur purchased them some tickets for the game booths and then went with them, keeping a watchful eye out for any Malfoys.

They were actually very adorable together, Arthur thought minutes later, as he watched them try to bob for apples. They kept bumping their heads together, losing their apples as they laughed and rubbed their heads. Both boys had thrown back the hoods of their costumes, so as not to get them wet, and Albus's black hair was in striking contrast to Scorpius's pale blonde. Al was so vibrant, so full of life, Arthur thought, while Scorpius seemed paler, softer in contrast. The kid obviously needed someone like Al to liven things up, while Al could always use someone around him to keep him somewhat calm and in line. Al always had had a knight in shining armor streak.

Once the boys had finally caught their apples, getting more than a little wet in the process, Arthur used his wand to dry them off and fix Scorpius's whiskers, which had begun to droop. Shyly Scorpius asked if it were possible for Arthur to make his eyes like Al's, and so Arthur slitted Scorpius's eyes as well, much to the boy's delight. Arthur didn't imagine that the boy's family would be thrilled, but it made the boy so happy that Arthur couldn't deny him his fun.

The next booth was sponsored by Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, and Arthur groaned when they were informed that the goal of the game was to see how many beans the person was willing to eat before they refused one or spit and/or threw one up.

"What's wrong, Mr. Weasley?" Scorpius asked as they both watched Albus eagerly accept his first pile of beans. Scorpius didn't like the beans very much, he'd gotten a really disgusting one once and hadn't had one since.

"What's wrong is that we could be here all night." Arthur informed Scorpius with a resigned look. "Al has a cast iron stomach and there are very few things in this world he won't eat or at least try. These people have no idea what they're getting themselves into, offering him all he can eat. He's going to be sick tonight, just see if he isn't. Ginny is not going to be happy with me."

Worried Scorpius let go of Mr. Weasley's hand to watch him friend calmly pop one bean into his mouth after another. Even a really disgusting looking yellow one. Face scrunched up Scorpius exchanged worried glances with the person in charge of the booth as Albus kept right on going no matter what the bean was or looked like.

"That was a chili pepper one." The witch muttered, staring at Al with a mixture of awe and horror. "He's not even slowing down."

"And he won't." Arthur warned. "And if you don't want him to eat them all you better just give him the top prize now. My son George has done extensive research on the fearlessness of Al's stomach and the results were not pretty."

Two minutes later the woman had to concede that Al's grandfather wasn't just having her on. The kid was a machine. And so the woman handed over the top prize, a gift certificate that entitled Al to ten free boxes of the beans and a large stuffed dragon that actually breathed smoke out its nostrils while wagging its tail.

"Very sick." Albus announced as his grandfather arranged for them to pick the dragon up later, his grandfather taking the certificate as well so that it wouldn't be lost. "Are you sure you don't want to have some, Grey? They were all pretty good. Especially the bright red one."

"No thank you. I don't like them very much. I don't know how you could eat so many."

"Mum says it's because of all of Uncle George's experimenting on me. She says my brain just doesn't work right anymore when it comes to knowing what I should and shouldn't eat."

"Well let's let Scorpius chose the next game, shall we?" Arthur suggested, not wanting Albus to start listing all the things he'd eaten in the past. He himself had only just eaten a little while ago and preferred to have his dinner remain in his stomach. Hopefully whatever booth Scorpius picked wouldn't involve food in any way. At least not until Ginny found them.

)

By the time Ginny did find them she had been well briefed by Hermione as to the situation. So her daughter in law to be had turned out to be her son in law to be, and a Malfoy to boot. Talk about your short engagements. Seeing the kid's costume, Ginny couldn't blame her son for thinking that the boy was a girl. She would have thought the same. Ah the horrors a grandmother could inflict upon their grandchildren, Ginny thought as she waved to them to get their attention.

"Ello, Mum." Running over Albus grabbed her hand and dragged her over to introduce her to his friend.

Returning Al's mother's hello and smile Scorpius thought her costume was very nice and said so. His parents and grandparents hadn't dressed up, saying it was only for children. But apparently Mrs. Potter didn't think so.

"Thank you." Wondering how Draco had ever managed to produce such a shy, sweet looking kid, Ginny could only hope the kid either toughened up or was very well loved. The Malfoys had never struck her as tolerant of sweetness.

Seeing his chance to escape back upstairs Arthur handed over the two bags he'd been using to store the kids' prizes. "Well I'll just leave them with you then. Oh, and before you leave you need to stop by the Bott's Beans Booth and pick up Albus's dragon."

"Hopefully not a real one." Was his daughter's dry response.

"Nope, just a stuffed one, Mum. I won it."

Eyes narrowing Ginny gave her father a dark look. "And just how many of those things did he have to eat before he won this prize?"

"Got to go, the boys will tell you all about it."

And off he was before Ginny could stop him. Turning to look at the boys Ginny could see they were both already half wired on sugar and too much excitement. A Potter and a Malfoy, on a sugar high together, with more sugar sure to come.

Things were bound to only get more interesting from here on in.


	3. The Princesses Collide

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters are put in. Everything else belongs to people with very scary lawyers. Thanks for reading, hope that you enjoy and let me know what you think.

The Princesses Collide

Thinking to work off some of their excess energy Ginny steered the two boys towards the physically challenging games, their bags soon bulging with their prizes. Of course neither showed much of an inclination to slow down, not with so much to see and do. In pure self defense Ginny directed them to the ball tent, sending them in to swim among the colorful plastic balls while she sat for a while and plotted how to guilt Harry into rubbing her poor feet for her later.

The two friends played in the balls for a while, pelting each other with them gleefully. But that got old soon, especially with the supervisor constantly telling them to leave the balls alone. Climbing out the two spotted Ginny sitting nearby, apparently deep in conversation with her oldest brother.

"What happened to his face?" Scorpius whispered as they headed in the adults' direction, a little freaked out by the deep scarring all over the man's face.

"A werewolf mauled him. He's not a werewolf though, it wasn't a full moon. My big brother Teddy is the son of a werewolf too."

Confused Scorpius cocked his head to the side. "Wouldn't that make him your father too?"

"Nope. Teddy isn't my brother the way James is." Albus explained with a shrug, the logistics really not mattering to him. Teddy had always been and always would be his big brother. Teddy said so. "Teddy's parents were killed by Deatheaters but his Mum and Da made my Da Teddy's godfather before that. So when they died my Da became Teddy's Da too. Get it?"

"I think so. Is Teddy a werewolf?"

"Well Da says that when Teddy gets old enough his Animagi will probably be a wolf, but Teddy doesn't change now. He does like really rare steak though, just like Uncle Bill."

"What's an Animagi?"

"Well really smart wizards and witches can become animals. It's not like transfiguring yourself, you still think like a person only you're an animal. My Da turns into a stag when he transforms, it's really cool. My Mum turns into a horse and my Aunt Hermione, who you met before, she turns into an otter. I don't know what I'll be, but I hope its something big and really sick."

"I'm sure it will be. Do you think maybe I could learn to be one too?"

"Sure, I'll ask my Da to teach you when he teaches me. And here comes Domi." Albus added as he noticed the blonde girl in a fairy princess costume who was moving in to intercept them before they reached the adults. "Compliment her on her dress and she'll like you."

"Hey, Al." Smiling Dominique looked over the girl beside her cousin, immediately evaluating the other girl's cuteness in comparison to her own. She didn't make friends with girls who were close to being as pretty as she was. Of course in her mind her Maman and big sister Victoire were the only ones as beautiful as her, but still. And the girl in the kitten costume was cute, though not in her league, Dominique decided. They could be friends. "Hi, I'm Domi, Al's cousin. What's your name?"

"I'm Scorpius. You have a very nice dress."

"Like the bug?" She did not like bugs.

"He's not a bug. And you can call him Grey, that's what I call him. He's a Malfoy."

Him? A Malfoy?

Eyes widening Domi assumed the girl was in fact a guy, despite the costume. No girl, even a Malfoy, would let a guy say she was a boy without punching him. Well that changed everything. Guys, especially Malfoys, deserved to be named after bugs, since they had so much in common with them. They were weird, liked dirt, and were mostly stupid. Were they even allowed to be friends with Malfoys, she wondered.

"That's her da." Albus added, motioning to the man beside his mum. He thought it wise to distract Domi from the fact that Grey was a Malfoy. He couldn't beat up a girl after all, much less one he was actually related to. And he couldn't beat her with words because Domi was way more vicious than he was when it came to name calling. She made kids twice her age cry.

Domi's eyes dared Scorpius to make a crack about her papa's face.

Wisely sensing the terrible danger hidden underneath Domi's fairy wings and poofy pink skirt Scorpius kept his mouth shut, simply nodding his acknowledgement. His eyes sliding off so he wouldn't have to meet hers Scorpius's face paled as he caught sight of another girl, even more fearsome, marching in his direction. "Uh oh."

"What?" Craning his neck to see who Scorpius was looking at, Albus's eyes widened as he caught sight of the small mountain moving towards them. "Is she part giant? How old is she?" He whispered, since she would be at Hogwarts if she was actually the age her size indicated.

"Has she no fashion sense at all?" Domi added with a toss of her hair, her pert little nose in the air as she took in the other girl's costume. The girl was also dressed up like a princess, but the costume was obviously not meant for someone the girl's size and only made her look fatter. That it was also a horrid shade of yellow had Domi thinking someone needed to spill punch all over it asap. Where to get the punch though?

"She's eight, and I don't think she has giant blood. I wish she did though. Then my grandfather wouldn't let her come over anymore. She's one of the girls grandfather wants to stick me with. Whenever she comes over she picks me up and treats me like I'm her teddy bear." And that was when he was dressed normally. Merlin only knew what she'd do to him now. The idea of being treated like a kitten terrified him, especially given how much Amanda liked cats.

Domi and Albus were too small for him to hide behind properly, so Scorpius squared his shoulders and prayed for salvation.

)

"Who are these people, Scorpius?" Amanda Kenderson demanded to know, sharing a look of mutual dislike with Domi. She didn't like seeing Scorpius standing near such a pretty girl, especially one who was half her size. That they were both dressed as princesses and Domi looked so much better in hers made them future enemies for life.

"We're his friends. And you can't pick him up." Albus informed her bravely, though he wasn't entirely sure he could stop her. She was even bigger close up.

Eyes narrowing threateningly the girl crossed her beefy arms in front of her, the fabric straining with the movement. "Aren't you one of the Potter brats? Scorpius, what are you doing hanging out with him? He's the enemy."

Sticking out his chin Scorpius glared back at her, forgetting his fear in reaction to her words. "He's my friend. DON'T call him a brat."

"Not to mention you have bigger things to worry about. Like the fact that your face looks like a Mandrake's."

All eyes going to Domi Amanda and Scorpius simply stared, shocked speechless. Albus, who was used to it, could only marvel at her creativity.

"What did you say?" Amanda growled, the boys instinctively taking a couple steps back.

Not intimidated in the least Domi crossed her own arms, tapping her fairy wand against her shoulder as she rose to her tippy toes, meeting the girl's fury head on. Nobody outside their family called Albus names and got away with it. He was a stupid boy, but he was her stupid boy.

"You heard me. Or is that dress cutting off the circulation to your brain? What little brain you probably have anyway."

"What would you know about brains? You're just a dumb blonde."

Paling Albus frantically motioned Scorpius back. If there was one thing he'd learned about his Veela cousins in his five years of life, it was that they couldn't take a dumb blonde crack. Under any circumstances. Very, very, bad things happened.

Icy blue eyes firing up at the insult Domi pointed her plastic wand threatening in the girl's direction. "You know, I was going to say you need a makeover, but what you really need is to be run over. By a train. At least then you'd have an excuse for being so damn ugly."

Drawing back her fist it was clear that Amanda intended to settle this like a guy.

"That will be enough, both of you." Not that it wasn't entirely possible that Domi deserved to be punched Ginny silently acknowledged as she came up to stand behind the boys. But she couldn't just watch her brother's kid be punched out by a kid so much older than her. That and the boys looked as afraid of the girl as they were of Domi, which was saying something.

"Beat it, Bitch."

Making a sound of outrage Albus snatched Domi's wand out of her hand, intending to poke the girl in the eye with it. It was, after all, the only way he could reach her face. Nobody called his mum a bitch, girl or not.

Lucky for Amanda Ginny grabbed her son in time.

A tap on her shoulder had Amanda looking up, all the color leaving her face as she looked into the horribly scarred face of a man with a dragon fang in his ear.

"I think you should go now." Bill suggested sternly, more amused than hurt when the girl gave a squeak of terror and took off running like a dementor was after her. "Now what did you say to make her so mad, Domi?" He added, giving his daughter a knowing look. She was her mother's daughter after all and his girls had very venomous tongues when crossed.

"She was picking on Al and Scorpius." Was Domi quick response, hurrying over to wrap her arms around her papa's leg. Looking up at him her eyes were as wide and innocent as an angel's, using her Veela charms on him to wiggle her way out of any blame. "I had to stop her, right? Because I'm oldest." She actually wasn't sure how old the Malfoy kid was, but he looked pretty weak and small to her.

"Somehow I got the impression you didn't just ask her politely to leave." Was her father's amused response, well practiced in dealing with a Veela's charms.

"But she wasn't smart enough to listen, Papa."

"Her mother is, or I guess was, Millicent Bulstrode. She was a Slytherin in Harry's year. Also not known for anything resembling brains." Ginny added with a small smirk. It had been Millicent's cat who had provided the hair that had turned Hermione into a cat girl in her friend's second year.

"Domi was really, really brave." Scorpius told Bill, shuffling his feet as he tried not to stare. He didn't want Al's cousin to get into trouble, especially since she had been trying to help them. "Please don't be mad at her, Mister. Amanada's not nice at all. She can be really, really mean. She breaks stuff when she comes over and says our house elf did it."

"Typical Slytherin." Hermione muttered, having come in just in time to hear Ginny and Scorpius's response. And she still bore a grudge against Millicent Bulstrode, so any bashing had her whole hearted support.

On either side of her was James and Rosie, who had been looking for Albus when she'd run into them. James was dressed as a Gryffindor Quidditch player and Rosie was dressed up as a bunny rabbit.

"Hey, Al." Leaving her mother's side Rosie walked over to meet her favorite cousin's new friend. "Hi, you're name is Scorpius, right? My name is Rosie. It's very nice to meet you." She added, holding out her hand to shake.

Returning the shake Scorpius smiled back at her shyly. "Nice to meet you too."

Reluctantly James stepped forward too, though he kept his hands firmly in his robe pockets. "I'm James." It went against his nature to be nice to a Malfoy, but his Aunt Hermione had pointed out that if he made friends with Scorpius it would drive the kid's father and grandfather up the wall. This appealed to him, and made him think he could at least give the kid a chance. One chance anyway. If he went Peter on Al James was already mentally planning how to get his Uncle Hagrid to feed the kid to Witherwings.

"Hi." Scorpius returned, sensing that this one didn't like him too much yet.

Sensing the mood Rosie quickly changed the subject. "Hey, Al, the lady at the Botts booth said you won the top prize." Actually the lady hadn't said it had been Al specifically, but the woman could have only been describing her cousin when she'd called the winner a freak of eating nature. Who else could eat that many beans and not die?

"Yup, I got a really sick dragon."

"James ate seventeen and then spit one out." Winking, Rosie knew how much the news would delight Albus. There were very few things that Albus could top his brother in, but eating was usually one of them.

Making a face James gave Rosie a dirty look for reminding him. "It tasted like Buckley's cough syrup. Anyone would have spit it out."

"I like Buckley's cough syrup."

"What's Buckley's cough syrup?" Scorpius wanted to know, since everyone was looking at Albus like he'd just said he wanted to be eaten by a dragon.

"Really yucky cold medicine for Muggles. Uncle Harry grew up with Muggles, so that's what he always got when he was sick." Domi explained, making a face. She'd only taken it once and that had been more than enough. "I'd rather be sick than take it."

"But it does really work." Ginny pointed out, though she didn't know how Harry could take the nasty stuff. But she let him make the kids take it because her kids were demanding handfuls when they were healthy. Sick they were twice the trouble.

Albus apparently liked the stuff, but nobody else did. His new friend had really, really weird taste buds, Scorpius decided. But that was okay, he liked Al anyway. Plus, if his parents ever did let him be friends with Albus, and let him come over, Albus could eat his asparagus for him. He hated asparagus as much as Domi apparently hated the medicine.

"Well the fireworks start in about twenty minutes, we should probably finish up down here and than head upstairs." Putting his watch back into his pocket Bill placed a hand on his daughter's head, careful not to wreck her ringlets. "Anywhere else you want to visit, Princess?"

"I want to watch Al freak out the Botts lady by eating all her beans again."

Ginny nipped that right in the bud. "Anything other than that? Albus has eaten all the sugar he's going to get tonight." She was not up to dealing with rainbow colored vomit tonight.

All the kids but Scorpius looked disappointed.

)

"Astoria, have you seen Scorpius anywhere?" Draco asked his wife, having finally found her in the now less crowded room. Most people were getting up to find seats on the back lawn or a place in front of a window for the fireworks display. Since his wife hated being crowded in he's figured correctly that she'd have stayed behind.

"He's downstairs, but he'll probably be up shortly for the fireworks." Was her calm reply as she continued to sip her tea, wondering whether or not to tell her husband who their child was with. Amanda Kenderson had coming running to her to tell her that Scorpius was being held hostage by the Potters twenty minutes ago. Amanda had also mentioned a horribly scarred man who they intended to feed her son to, Bill Weasley she'd imagine. Naturally she'd gone down to see for herself and had spotted her son quite happily playing pin the tail on the dragon. with a group of children cheering him on. That the children he'd been surrounded by were Weasleys and Potters had surprised her, but she'd caught Ginny Potter's eye. Ginny had been a year ahead of her in school so there had never been any real contact with each other, but she knew the other woman by reputation. Mother had recognized mother, and by mutual, unspoken agreement, Astoria had entrusted her son to the other woman's care and had left him to his fun, returning to the main level without letting her son spot her.

"Shouldn't one of us be watching him? He gets picked on enough as it is. In that costume the bullies must be salivating with delight." That he himself had been like that at his son's age made it that much worse. He knew now how cruel he'd been, but as a boy he hadn't. He'd simply been the boy his father had expected him to be.

"He's fine. He was playing with a bunch of children, most of them older than him. They'll keep the bullies off him."

"He's made some friends?" His son was very shy and tended to avoid people or clam up. Apparently he'd come out of his shell a little, and Draco couldn't wait to meet his son's new friends. Not ones picked out for him by family, but ones he'd made himself. Good for him.

"And they're all Potters or Weasleys."

Sitting down hard Draco stared at his wife in horror. "Tell me you're joking."

Reaching out Astoria patted his hand in sympathy, imagining he could use a good shot of Fire Whiskey right about now. "I'm not joking."

"Why must fate be so cruel to me?"

"Think of it as penance for your past misdeeds."

"Oh Potter is just going to love this."


	4. Family Fireworks

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations all characters are put in. Everything else belongs to someone else and that's the way it stays. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Family Fireworks

Once the kids had done their final rounds of the booths and filled their bags full of goodies the adults hustled them up towards the stairs, Bill enlisted to carry Albus's enormous dragon under one arm and his daughter in the other, Ginny and Hermione taking on the assignment of getting the other children up the stairs without anyone taking a tumble. Successfully reaching the top the adults herded the kids out of the gigantic manor house and onto the manicured lawn, Hermione leading the way as she'd been informed by her husband and Harry as to where their families were setting down blankets.

It took plenty of weaving and dodging, especially with the dragon to deal with, but eventually they found the grouping of blankets that had been set out by various members of their family.

Letting his daughter down Bill shooed her in the direction of her mother, walking over to deposit the dragon on the blanket Harry sat on. His brother in law was dressed as a ghost too, and seemed blissfully unaware of his son's impending engagement to a Malfoy. Normally Bill would have given the man a head's up, but he'd promised Ginny to let her tell him.

Raising an eyebrow over the dragon Bill was gone with a wave before Harry could ask him where it had come from. His answer came when the rest of his family plus one joined him, James enlisting the stuffed animal for a pillow. His future daughter in law, Harry wondered with an amused smile as he looked over the grey kitten at Albus's side. Ginny had told him that she'd made a flower ring for Al to give to some girl. Wasn't his son a little heartbreaker already, he thought in amusement.

Taking a seat with her son on the blanket Ginny watched eagerly as Albus brought Scorpius over to meet her husband, thinking it terribly sweet the way her son was holding the other boy's hand. They were both probably nervous, she thought, prepared to whack her husband upside the head if he said something insulting to the poor kid. Her time with the boy had shown him to be a real sweetie, and she at least had no problem with the two boys remaining friends, whether her husband liked it or not.

"Hi, Da." Albus began as he and Scorpius moved to stand in front of Harry. He was a little nervous, but he knew how much his father loved him. Da always said that he would do anything for him, so Al would just ask his Da for that anything to be his Da getting along and being nice to Grey.

"Hey back." Harry returned, his eyes trying to recognize and identify the girl in the kitten costume. Looked like his son had a taste for cute blondes, Harry noted in amusement, having the strange feeling he should know who the girl was. There was definitely something familiar about her.

"Da, this is my friend Sco-."

What Albus had been about to say was lost as a loud boom rent the air, scaring the heck out of both boys so that they instinctively sought protection from the nearest adult available. The two leapt without warning into Harry's laps, wrapping their little arms around his neck as they buried their faces against the sides of his neck, clinging for dear life.

Torn between laughing and choking over their mutual hold on him Harry kept his voice low and soothing as more, less noisy pops filled the air. "It's just the fireworks, you two. It's okay, I've got you."

Slowly the two lifted their heads enough to see the fireworks erupting in the sky above them, the various animals the lights created fascinating them enough that they allowed Harry to draw them down into his lap properly, the older man wrapping his arms around them to keep them in place as they craned their necks to see everything.

Now knowing they were safe the two leaned back against Harry's chest happily, oohing and ahhing over the various displays Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes had created. Reaching out Scorpius took Albus's hand, the two twining their hands together to the amusement of Albus's father who was watching.

All around the Potter blanket the news was being passed from Weasley to Weasley as to just who was sitting on Harry's lap with Albus, many of the adults paying more attention to gawking at the three than they did the fireworks. Many pulled out cameras and waited until the lights from the sky provided enough light before snapping pictures. They all were eager to be around when Harry was informed. Of course friends of the family noticed and it wasn't long before the Longbottoms, Scamanders and Jordans were looking in his direction too, all with amused or shocked faces.

Aware of what was going on James scooted over to his mother's side and tugged on her arm, gaining her attention as he whispered. "Shouldn't we tell Da?"

Grinning like a Cheshire cat Ginny lowered her head to whisper back. "We'll tell him once the show's over."

Harry was none the wiser, though he sensed the looks he was getting. He was simply so used to being stared at that it had become just a normal, everyday thing. If it had registered that it was his friends and family who were staring he might have clued in, but he was concentrating on the fireworks, doing his best not to look at whoever was once again treating him like a feature in a sideshow. Besides, he enjoyed how happy the fireworks were making the kids, their little faces lit up with innocent joy and wonder. Adults forgot the joy after time, but it was good to see and recognize its importance. It made all the bad stuff worth it, to be able to sit here with his family and watch some fireworks displays.

)

The grand finale finally came, the whole sky lighting up in a shower of techno colour lights. And then it was dark again save for the stars, everyone clapping loudly as the staff of George's shop came out to take their bows for their efforts.

Lifting the children from his lap Harry got to his feet, stretching out the kinks in his back as he listened absently to the children all discussing the display and what parts they'd liked best. Smiling over their exuberance Harry leaned down and began rolling up the blanket, slugging it under his arm as he got ready to deal with the crowds. Now there was just the question of the dragon and finding the parents of Al's friend in this throng of people.

"I'll carry the dragon." Ginny offered, scooping the large stuffed animal into her arms. "James, you keep an eye on the other two for me." She knew asking James to hold his brother's hand in public, much less a Malfoy's, would be too much for her to ask in James's opinion. And she couldn't see Harry's face well enough yet. She didn't want to miss a single one of his reactions when he found out who their extra person was. "You all stick close to me in these crowds."

"Are you meeting your parents somewhere?" Harry asked kindly as he did his best to herd the three children so that they were walking between him and Ginny, heading back towards the manor where the lighting would make it easier to distinguish between people.

"They'll be inside." Scorpius answered shyly, not quite knowing what to say to Al's father. The man had been awful nice, letting him sit on his lap like that even though he was a Malfoy. Scorpius doubted very much that his father would have done the same for Al.

"Alright then." Lifting a hand to pat the shy girl on the head Harry was glad for his popularity in that it allowed them to travel through the crowd easier, people stopping to point or stare at him. They went out of their way to give him an easy path through them.

Finally getting back into the manor Harry and Ginny herded the children off to the side so that they wouldn't be in anyone's way. Harry was just opening his mouth to ask his son's friend who she belonged to when Ginny's words stopped him cold.

"There they are, Scorpius." Doing her best not to laugh at the look on her husband's face Ginny pointed in the direction of the Malfoys, who were slowly making their way towards them. They too could get through a crowd quickly, by virtue of the fact that most everyone didn't want to get close to them. Draco had never looked paler, Ginny thought gleefully, while Scorpius's mother looked just as amused as she probably did.

Knowing better than to keep his parents waiting, especially since his grandparents could appear at any moment, Scorpius let go of Albus's hand and smiling sadly waved good bye, resigned to the fact that odds were he wouldn't get to play with his new friend again, at least not until they went to school together. "Well it was nice meeting you. I'll see you at Hogwarts, right, Al?"

"Right." Albus promised, giving his friend a thumbs up, his wave back just as sad and resigned.

Smiling in relief at the confirmation of continued friendship Scorpius called upon all his courage to face his family's mortal enemy, his hands reaching to twist and turn his tail in his agitation. "Thank you for letting me sit on your lap, Mr. Potter." He said in a quivery voice, and then not waiting for a reply the Malfoy heir took off at a run, disappearing into the crowd as he headed towards his family.

Head turning slowly Harry knew as soon as he caught the twinkle in his wife's eye that she'd known all along. "And you didn't think I needed a heads up?" He asked, giving her a 'what the hell were you think' looking.

"Well I didn't want you scaring my future son in law off." She teased back with a grin and wink.

All the blood leaving Harry's face he thought it a wonder he didn't have a heart attack then and there. It was a wonder his scar wasn't killing him, he thought darkly, now seeing the way several members of his family were looking at him, having crowded in close by to watch the 'other fireworks'.

"You all suck." Was Harry's opinion as all the adults burst out into peals of laughter.

While the adults all teased Harry about having let a Malfoy sit on his lap James turned his attention to his younger brother, who looked more than a little depressed now. "You aren't really going to be a friend with a Malfoy, are you?"

"He is my friend." Was Albus's stubborn reply, the boy crossing his arms for emphasis. "And he always will be."

"I wouldn't count on it." Was James cynical reply.

"You'll see."

)

Six Years Later

Waving good bye to his father from the train Albus waited until his father was out of sight before pulling his head in. Closing the window Albus took a deep breath, then grinned at his cousin Rosie who'd been standing at his side. "You okay if I leave for a bit?"

"Good luck finding him on this train." Was all she said, knowing better than to think she could talk him out of it. Only she knew that a great deal of his nerves had to do with another boy on this train, one who was destined for the Slytherin House. She herself remembered little about Scorpius Malfoy, or the infamous Halloween party. But the adults in her life had retold the story over and over again so she knew the story by heart. There wasn't an adult in their family who didn't seem to eagerly await a chance to remind her Uncle Harry about his son's engagement to a Malfoy.

"I'll find him." Leaving his cousin to sit with their other friends Albus figured they'd all be asking Rosie questions as soon as he left the car. Not that he cared. Unless he got shot down, the way everyone probably would assume he would be, if they knew what he was about to do. Which was why he hadn't told anyone besides Rosie. And she was under strict orders not to tell anyone about his plan to seek Scorpius up until he gave her the go ahead.

And so he began walking down the train, looking through the windows for the face he'd seen briefly at the station. He'd only caught a glimpse of Scorpius, the fog had been bad and he'd been far away. But he had a general idea of what his childhood friend looked like, and what he was wearing.

Finally Albus came to a car which at first he thought was empty, almost passing by it. But his eyes caught on something blue, making him back up so that he took a better look and spotted the lone figure in the car.

Taking another deep breath Albus slid the door open and walked in, closing it behind him as he shoved his hands nervously into his pockets. Up close he couldn't begin to see how he'd ever mistaken the boy in front of him for a girl, but he was most definitely a Malfoy. They tended to all look alike, just like his Mum said all Potters looked alike.

"Hi." He began weakly, raising a hand in a rather lame wave before shoving it back into his pocket.

"Hi." Scorpius replied softly, getting slowly to his feet. He'd spotted Albus at the station too, but his parents had been with him and Scorpius had thought it probably really stupid of him to think that the other boy would even vaguely remember him.

"Uhm...do you...I mean...we met once before, on Halloween. I was dressed as a lion and you were dressed in this really girlie kitten costume that you're grandmother forced you to wear. Is this...ringing any bells?"

By way of answering Scorpius turned around and opened up his traveling bag, pulling out one of his most treasured childhood possession from a side pocket. A daisy, a little worse for wear, the stem in the shape of a ring. "I thought...maybe you wouldn't remember...so I thought I'd bring it and see if it jogged your memory." A hint of a flush rising over his pale cheeks Scorpius tried to hide how happy he was that Albus had sought him out, that the other boy actually remembered him. That the memory had been special to him too.

"I can't believe you still have that!" Chuckling Albus came forward to take the flower ring from Scorpius, studying it as he remembered why he'd given it to Scorpius in the first place. Looking in Scorpius's direction Albus had a feeling that Scorpius was thinking the same thing. Grinning Albus wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, nerves forgotten. "So does you keeping the ring mean we're still engaged?"

Going red it was a good minute before Scorpius could respond with a straight face. "Do you mean you still want to marry me?" He shot back, showing that he'd developed a little more gumption since last they'd met.

Pleased Albus grinned wider. "Well I am a man of my word."

A smile twitching at the corners of Scorpius's mouth the Slytherin to be gave as good as he got. "Well if I can't find someone better I suppose I could keep you from having to live a life alone with no one but your stuffed dragon for company."

Laughing outloud Albus took Scorpius's left hand and slid the ring onto the other boy's baby finger, the ring only going a quarter of the way down Scorpius's baby finger. "You're just saying that because I didn't buy you the right size ring."

"Buy? Please, you had your mother make it for you, you cheapskate." Removing the ring Scorpius turned around to replace the ring to its place in his bag where it would be safe. Zipping up the bag's pocket Scorpius was glad he'd brought it, despite how embarrassing it was.

Moving closer Albus picked up the bag by its straps, grinning when Scorpius looked at him questioningly as he slugged the bag's strap over his shoulder. "Well come on." Walking over to the door Albus opened it, looking back in Scorpius's direction. "You're sitting with me and my friends."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

And grinning just as widely as Albus now, Scorpius followed the future Gryffindor out of the car, eager to begin their friendship anew at Hogwarts.

The End

* * *

Note: If I've left you jonesing for more Albus/Scorpius of the older, more..ahem, mature variety, I have four others with this pairing so check out profile if interested.


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